Insidious: Chapter 3 – Good, Bad & Ugly Review

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 58% (Critics) / 66% (Audience)Directed By: Leigh WhannellWritten By: Leigh WhannellStarring: Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Angus Sampson and Lin ShayeStudio: Focus FeaturesSynopsis: A prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family that reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity. – (Source)

The Good:
I love Lin Shaye! Her Elise Rainier is my favorite character in the entire INSIDIOUS movie franchise and getting to see her as the focal point of a movie where she gets to kick a little demonic butt was a treat for me.
Also “The Man Who Can’t Breathe” may be the most creepy design of a main antagonist that this movie franchise has ever presented.

The Bad:
This movie was so predictable and all of the beats seemed to be far too familiar to the same beats as they were depicted in the two precious INSIDIOUS films. Having a formula is one thing but being repetitive is something else altogether.
And I really didn’t understand the point of casting an actor of Dermot Mulroney’s caliber for such a thankless role. This role could have been just as easily filled by any middle-aged former daytime soap opera actor and the film would not have missed a beat.

The Ugly:
That final scene, that was supposed to be a “jump out of your seat” scary moment, instead was a bit unintentionally funny. Maybe it was because the scene was too well lit but the make-up for the Red-Faced Demon looks better when in a darker setting.

Final Verdict: A pretty much paint-by-numbers affair right down to the types and timing of the scares. It does have a nicely developed eerie atmosphere and a wonderful turn by (my personal favorite) Lin Shaye as doomed psychic Elise Rainier but all in all nothing we haven’t seen before.